February 2020 The Musical America Guide to Top COMPETITIONS Editor’s Note Compiling what is likely the most comprehensive Guide to Competitions available may seem like a straightforward task but, rest assured, it is not. The competitions we contact provide the usual information—application deadlines, eligibility rules, artistic disciplines, frequency, dates, fees, and more. But the application dates may not yet be set in stone (“late Spring 2022”), or the date has already passed but the competition has not (“December 3, 2019”/”June 3, 2020”), or the deadline has passed but can be stretched with a late fee attached, or maybe the applications are not even open yet. Additional variables: Is the competition national? International? Statewide? Continental? What about the jury members? Are any of them teachers and, if so, are their students allowed to compete? (That’s always a good one for discussion after the winners are announced.) Is there an equal number of men and women on the jury? Of performers and, say, general directors or other administrative types? Is the screening jury distinct from live/finals jury? Eligibility rules may seem straightforward, but the evidence indicates otherwise: In vocal competitions, the age range for men and women is different; the same can be said for multi-instrument contests. The hardest to categorize, both from an age and instrumental makeup, are the ensembles; in addition to the usual piano trio or string quartet, what about a group between five and nine pieces with no more than two pianos? Then there’s the ensemble age: some competitions set a youngest- and oldest-member age, others a median member age, others a sum of the parts. One sets an age for the group’s existence with the same or a few different members as of the application date. The Musical America Guide to Top What about applications materials? Video? Audio only? Bound score fully recorded? Letters of recommendation? Application fee? How much? Prizes are all over the lot, too, ranging from no cash to $100,000, from management COMPETITIONS and pre-booked recitals to mentoring and concerto dates with orchestras, to all of the above. We run all those disparate elements through our filter to make the result as useful as possible. We hope it’s helpful, both to aspiring talent and to those trying to find the bright future stars. Regards, Susan Elliott Editor, News and Special Reports Cover Photo: HM Queen Sonja of Norway awards the first prize to Korean tenor Seungju Mario Bahg at the Queen Sonja International Music Competition 2017. Credit: NTB scanpix/Terje Bendiksby. THE MUSICAL AMERICA GUIDE TO TOP COMPETITIONS 1 musicalamerica.com • February 2020 The following listings were drawn from the 2020 Musical America Worldwide database. COMPETITIONS Note that the majority have first-prize monies of $10,000 and over. AGO/ECS Publishing Award in Choral Composition ......................... 3 Michael Hill International Violin Competition ............................... 2 New York International Piano Competition .................................. 38 Siemens Hallé International Conductors Competition 2020 ......... 47 The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions 2020 Hilton Head International Piano Competition ...................... 2 The 0th Osaka International Chamber Music Competition .......... 39 Sphinx Competition ..................................................................... 48 in the Performing Arts .............................................................. 3 Ima Hogg Competition ................................................................. 22 PianoArts ..................................................................................... 40 Wilhelm Stenhammar International Music Competition .............. 49 ARD International Music Competition ............................................ 4 Honens International Piano Competition ..................................... 23 Plowman Chamber Music Competition ........................................ 40 Stulberg International String Competition ................................... 49 The Azrieli Music Prizes .................................................................. 4 The Hong Kong International Piano Competition 2022 ................ 23 Princess Astrid International Music Competition .......................... 4 Sydney International Piano Competition ...................................... 50 2020 Gina Bachauer Junior and Young Artists International Telekom Beethoven Competition Bonn ................... 24 Queen Elisabeth Competition–Belgium-Brussels ......................... 4 Takamatsu International Piano Competition ................................ 50 International Piano Competitions ............................................. 5 International Art Song Competition Stuttgart .............................. 24 The Queen Sonja International Music Competition....................... 42 Toru Takemitsu Composition Award 2020 ..................................... 5 Banff International String Quartet Competition ............................. 6 International Conducting Competition Rotterdam ....................... 25 Rapido!® A 4-Day Composition Contest ...................................... 43 36th Valsesia Musica International Competition 2020 .................. 52 Barlow Endowment International Music Cologne 2020 ................................................ 25 The 6th Arthur Rubinstein Viotti International Music Competition ........................................ 52 for Music Composition—Prize Competition ............................. 6 International Violin Competition of Indianapolis .......................... 26 International Piano Master Competition ................................. 43 VSA International Young Soloists ................................................. 53 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 202 ............................................. 7 International Vocal Competition ’s-Hertogenbosch ...................... 26 Schadt String Competition ........................................................... 44 International Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition Poznan´ ....... 53 Besançon International Competition for Young Conductors............ 7 Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition .......................................... 27 Schmidt Vocal Competition .......................................................... 44 Wigmore Hall/Independent Blue Danube/Bartók International Jinji Lake International Piano Competition 2020 .......................... 27 Schoenfeld International String Competition ............................... 45 Opera International Song Competition ................................... 54 Opera Conducting Competition 2020 (8th Edition) ................... 8 Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition Hannover ........ 28 Franz Schubert and Modern Music ............................................... 46 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition .............. 54 William C. Byrd Young Artist Competition ...................................... 9 Johansen International Competition Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition................. 46 Wilson Center Guitar Festival ........................................................ 55 Canadian International Organ Competition .................................... 9 for Young String Players (Ages 3-7) ..................................... 28 XII International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition ........................ 47 Young Concert Artists International Auditions.............................. 55 China International Music Competition ........................................ 0 Kocian Violin Competition ............................................................ 29 Christmas Carol Commission Competition .................................... Leeds International Piano Competition ........................................ 30 Cleveland International Piano Competition .................................. Lotte Lenya Competition .............................................................. 30 Sixteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition ............... 2 The Gerda Lissner Foundation in Association Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition and Festival ........ 3 with the Liederkranz Foundation ............................................ 3 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition ......................... 3 Liszt Competition Utrecht ............................................................. 3 Concours Musical International de Montréal—CMIM .................. 4 Lyon International Chamber Music Competition .......................... 32 Cooper-Bing Competition............................................................. 5 The Mahler Competition............................................................... 32 Thomas And Evon Cooper International Competition ................... 5 Malko Competition for Young Conductors .................................... 33 Dublin International Piano Competition ....................................... 6 Fourth International Éva Marton Singing Competition ................. 34 The George Enescu International Competition ............................. 6 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions ........................... 34 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition ............................. 7 MTNA National Student Competitions .......................................... 35 The Musical America Guide to Top Fleischmann International Trophy Competition— National Chopin Piano Competition of the United States ............. 35 Cork